All-China Women's Federation

All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), formerly All-China Democratic Women’s Foundation (1949–1957) and Women’s Federation of the People’s Republic of China (1957–1978), the official, state-sponsored organization representing women’s interests in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Founded on April 3, 1949, the basic mission of the All-China Women’s Federation’s (ACWF) is to represent and safeguard the rights and interests of women and promote gender equality. The ACWF has advocated policy changes on behalf of women and also has played a role in responding to women’s issues at a local level. Among its current tasks are to promote and increase literacy rates, technical skills, employment opportunities, family welfare, poverty alleviation, and the political participation of women.

The administrative structure of the ACWF parallels that of the PRC’s political administrative divisions in having national, provincial, prefectural, county, town/township, and village levels. Each tier of the ACWF is under the direct supervision of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee at its own level. The ACWF thus plays the dual role of transmitting and implementing state policy, along with representing women’s interests to the state.

The ACWF was initially established as an organization to support the CCP. Women were mobilized as a force to promote the goals of the CCP and also to further women’s interests and rights. While both goals were seen as complementary, the mission of the party took precedence over women’s issues. Developments in the post-Mao era, along with the 1980s economic reforms, however, have led to many transformations. Those include the emergence of other women’s organizations, the formation of women’s studies as a discipline, and the introduction of issues of global feminism to the PRC. In an effort to acquire global legitimacy as a body representing women’s rights and to gain international recognition and funding, the ACWF began referring to itself as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 1995. The ACWF’s adoption of NGO status, however, has been widely contested and debated, given its close relationship with the state.